Apesar de Tudo, Amor

Only one episode left but Nabi is still urgh.. This is really frustrating both characters doesnt know how to express their feelings its like both of them are having a game of charades. They technically making both their life difficult by always assuming ang never ask or verify the actions and words. They obviously have the connection but they both want to mess it up.. THIS IS SO MESSED UP STORY and now we are down to one more episode and im disheartened by episode 9.

I cant agree to the people who says this is cringey, I love how they deliver the lines, the tone and characteristics it's all well played,, and if I ask you who would portray these characters better I bet you couldn't think of any because they literally suit the characters well.

Before I watched this drama I kept reading EVERYWHERE, how the character Song Kang plays was sooo toxic and that he was such a bad boy, and I was really looking forward to see him playing a character like that, well that's not what you will find. He plays a guy with deep emotions but wounded and that doesn't know how to love ( or doesn't really want to) until he actually does and falls in love with Nabi. Not ONE TIME in the show he disrespects or hurts the female lead in any way. He never promised loyalty nor exclusivity and she just has different expectations ( Korean social standards are very much narrow minded when it comes to sex and intimacy in an open way).

I find this show very realistic and aligned with how people actually behave in real life and I enjoyed watching the characters struggling trying to find the way of being okay with their feelings and learning how to express them.

Loved the representation of LGBT relationships and the other secondary couples where adding a lot of warmth to the story.

The only reason why I didn't give it a 10 is because his show would have been priceless with a better script, the potential of passionate and raw dialogues this one has...!!! Instead its a lot of unsaid words and unspoken emotions. But I enjoyed It throughly regardless.

The best thing about this kdrama is how the male lead deals with consent. He consistently expressed his boundaries and what he is offering. He is pretty forward, but he makes very clear moves and backs off if he notices she is not ready for it. Not once does he disparage her for rejecting him or setting her own boundaries, he always just smiles and let's her be. He listens to her. I think that's what makes this drama compelling and hot. And it's such an antithesis to the usual dramas which seem very sweet and loving and innocent, but are often rife with people taking advantage of each other, pushing the boundaries of friendships, and the classic grab her by the wrist and drag her of somewhere to talk or tell her off... Ugh.

Some good side romances and nice to see some lgbt representation.

Its a straight forward romance, not much more to it and not enough there to give it a 10, but so good for what it is.

Nevertheless might have been much better, if there was a good storyline, likeable pair of lead characters and a bit decent pacing.

The story never felt like romance, instead it was 90% complications for the leads, which I felt kind annoying and the end wasn't compelling enough. I personally like the lead characters (So Hee Han & Song Kan) but there pairing felt dumb, disappointing and it never kept the show to be interesting. Instead I was quite amazed by the pairing of the supporting characters, which were developed quite well.

The only positive thing about this drama was the music which I felt was soothing to the ears and quite melodious. Along with that, I loved how the relations developed among the other supporting cast, which was way better showcased than the lead characters. It was a wasted potential, Nevertheless.

Cons: Unlikeable lead characters Weak storyline Less of love story, more of irrelevant complications among the pair The pacing was very slow, with couple of episodes being flat boring

Pros: The OST was soothing and melodious The supporting casts had a better relationship development.

My Rating : 5.5/10.